‘Mary Poppins’ by P.L. Travers [Book Review]

I’ve done it! With only one day to go, I’ve completed my 2017 Reading Challenge! Not in the conventional checking off every criteria sense, but I did managed to read 52 books this year – ten of which I devoured this month alone – and for that I am pretty damn proud of myself. So, without further ado, the final book I read in 2017 was Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers.

Review:‘”Don’t you know,” she said pityingly, “that everybody’s got a Fairyland of their own?”‘

The story that inspired the hit Disney movie of the same name, Mary Poppins is the world famous magical nanny of the Banks children. The book follows the adventures taken by Mary, Jane and Michael; the chapters can almost be read as standalone stories, as there is very little connecting information between them.

It is full of fun and whimsical fantasy elements, within a contemporary setting (almost like an early example of magical realism). The characters are well developed for such a short children’s book, but unfortunately I wasn’t a huge fan of Mary as an individual.

This was a quirky read, full of much wackier plot points than I had been expecting. It brought back some wonderful memories of watching the movie as a child, but unusually I preferred the film to the novel. That being said, I’m glad that I’ve finally read this children’s classic, and I would definitely continue with the series should the mood strike me.

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